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Education
PhD, Psychology, University of Michigan
MS, Psychology, University of Michigan
MA, Child Language, University of Kansas
BA, Cognitive and Linguistic Sciences, Wellesley College
Background
Margaret is a principal researcher at the Center for Decision Research. Prior to the University of Chicago, she was a doctoral student at the University of Michigan in developmental psychology working primarily with Susan Gelman.
Research Interests
Margaret is interested in promoting greater wellbeing across the lifespan. As a part of this, she currently examines the strategies we use to understand the contents of others’ minds, and whether the efficacy of different strategies changes as we age. In a related line of work, she also examines why we may fail to engage in prosocial behaviors, especially in cases where these acts bring about greater wellbeing. Across studies, she takes a developmental approach with the goal of understanding the ontogeny of decision making.
Margaret is currently conducting research with children to better understand how we develop as decision makers. If you are a parent or guardian, find out how you and your child can participate in paid studies online.
Selected Publications & Presentations
Gelman, S. A., & Echelbarger, M. (in press). Children, object value, and persuasion, Journal of Consumer Psychology.
Echelbarger, M., Gelman, S. A., & Kalish, C. W. (2018). Getting what you pay for: Children’s use of market norms to regulate exchanges. Child Development.
Echelbarger, M., Gelman, S. A., & Kalish, C. W. (2018). How does “emporiophobia” develop? Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 41, e168.
Smith1, Craig E., Echelbarger1, M., Gelman, S. A., Rick, S. I. (2018). Spendthrifts and tightwads in childhood: Feelings about spending predict financial behavior in children. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 31, 446-460. (1 denotes equal authorship)
Echelbarger, M., & Gelman, S. A. (2017). The value of variety and scarcity across development. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 156, 43-61.